Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has admitted that he is interested in bringing Southampton striker Sam Gallagher to the Championship club on loan.

The Midlands outfit have suffered a torrid start to the new season, picking up just one point from their first three games.

Given the high-profile summer capture of John Terry and Villaâ€™s ambitions of pushing for promotion back to the Premier League this season, it is fair to say that Bruce and the club are under immediate pressure in 2017-18.

The Villa Park outfit have been missing last seasonâ€™s attacking talisman Jonathan Kodjia, as the African striker is still on the sidelines through injury.

In his absence, Gabby Agbonlahor and Scott Hogan have failed to score the required goals to fire Bruceâ€™s men to victory and the Championship side appear to be ready to bolster their attacking ranks.

â€œEvery club in the Championship has been linked with him,â€ the Villa boss stated in a press conference, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.

â€œItâ€™s something weâ€™re looking at us. He interests us, yes.â€

With Manolo Gabbiadini and Charlie Austin as the main men in attack at Southampton, Gallagher has found first-team opportunities hard to come by at the Premier League club.

The 21-year-old centre forward spent last season on loan with Blackburn Rovers, with his 11 Championship goals a rare positive as the Lancashire outfit were relegated to League One.

Gallagher looks increasingly likely to be farmed out again by Southampton and on first sight Villa looks like an ideal destination.

With the Midlands club missing a physical presence in the final third and in dire need of competition for places in attack, the former MK Dons loanee could be the shot in the arm that Bruce and the club need this summer.

While Villaâ€™s summer business has seen a number of experienced players signed permanently, arguably the most-promising addition has been Josh Onomah on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

The Birmingham-based outfit would be wise to look at landing other Premier League players on a temporary basis for the campaign, as an upturn in fortunes is needed – and quick – at Villa Park.

Gareth McKnight is the editor of Ninety Minutes Online and a director of Mudcrab Media. An experienced online and print journalist, Gareth has worked for Goal.com, FourFourTwo, Soccerlens and countless other media sources over the years. He is from Northern Ireland but lives in Western Australia.

Ninety Minutes Online aims to be objective in assessing the current trends in the sport, sparking debate and invoking thought. The site aims to provide a mix of breaking news, opinion-based articles and analytical pieces that are interesting and enjoyable for the reader.Please read our Privacy Policy